ANAHEIM – This time, Nick Adenhart plans to focus all of his aggression toward his opponent. He doesn’t expect to be fighting himself anymore.

Adenhart will take the mound tonight as the Angels’ No. 3 starter, an honor that seemed improbable at best a year ago.

Sure it took season-opening injuries to John Lackey, Ervin Santana and Kelvim Escobar to help land the opening-week nod, but it also took some soul searching on Adenhart’s part to make sure it became official.

Inconsistency was a problem last year for the right-hander as he went 9-13 with a 5.76 ERA at Triple-A Salt Lake.

He did make his big-league debut a year ago, but he ended up walking a combined 10 batters in his first two starts.

“One of the things we talked about last year after my first start was just being able to make an adjustment,” Adenhart said. “When your adrenaline is pumping that hard, I’ve described it as not being able to feel my body. You make an adjustment and things snowball, and you end up trying that much harder.”

Adenhart’s new outlook has been apparent from the outset. He was 3-0 with a 3.12 ERA in a team-leading 26 Cactus League innings.

“My fastball command was a lot better than it had been in the past, at least last year,” he said. “When you can do that you can do a lot more things in the count during the game.”

In his big-league debut on May 1 of last year, Adenhart hardly put up a fight against Oakland. He gave up five runs on five walks and three hits in two innings. It figures to go much different tonight.

“Last year I got called up, I was at the hotel, didn’t know when I would start,” he said. “When I got the call, (my start) was on short rest, it was my first time at the ballpark, first time in a (major-league) game.

“This time just getting to sit back and watch the first two games makes it a lot more comfortable.”

Playing it safe

Vladimir Guerrero was the designated hitter for the second consecutive night as he deals with a sore chest muscle. Guerrero’s first game in the outfield this season still looks to be a few days away.

Change of plans

So much for that idea that Kelvim Escobar would make a rehab start for the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes on Thursday. Escobar will be shut down at least until the end of the week with what manager Mike Scioscia called “tightness.” The setback is not considered serious for the right-hander, who had shoulder surgery in July.

Santana’s progress

Ervin Santana is doing well enough in flat-ground throwing sessions that he might start throwing from a mound by the weekend. He is on the disabled list with a sprained elbow ligament.